


The Way Out

by fab_fan



Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: F/F, Light Angst, Season Finale, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24326044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fab_fan/pseuds/fab_fan
Summary: Deploy.Raelle was deploying.Right now.No.No.This wasn’t happening.This couldn’t be happening.
Relationships: Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn
Comments: 19
Kudos: 185





	The Way Out

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during the Season 1 Finale (1x10). Right after *spoiler* Anacostia frees Scylla.

Scylla marched down the long corridor, not making eye contact with any of the guards. 

She didn’t have much time. Who knew when someone would go check on the cell. Hell, who knew if Anacostia would even keep her word. This could be a trap.

A voice in the back of her head told her it wasn’t. That she could trust Anacostia. Strangely, the voice sounded like Raelle, but Scylla didn’t want to dwell on that. Couldn’t dwell on that. 

She had to get out of there before anyone figured out the Spree prisoner was free.

Anacostia. The officer was giving Scylla a chance. She had been nice to Scylla. The only one, really. She didn’t need to be. Scylla knew Anacostia had disliked her. The multiple times she tried to get her to stay away from Raelle revealed that. 

Using Realle to link with her revealed that.

Goddess, that hurt so much. Seeing Raelle on the cold stone floor. Not knowing what was happening, but desperate to not scare the girl who held her heart.

_I love you._

Hearing those words. Scylla didn’t think she need to. It was fine. She was fine. She was tough. 

But hearing Raelle finally tell her she loved her?

And then watching as the guards ripped her away, dragged her out of the room?

It hurt worse than anything since hearing her parents die.

But, Anacostia granted her favor. She didn’t have to. Alder didn’t care. She got what she wanted. 

And Scylla was going to die.

But, Anacostia brought Raelle.

Raelle, who was cold. Guarded. Hurt.

Not being able to fully explain, not being able to touch her or goddess even hold her hand...Scylla still loved her. Would always love her. It wasn’t because Raelle was a mark. It wasn’t fake or a lie. Raelle was everything. She meant everything.

She wondered if Anacostia knew. If she heard Scylla’s pleas. Heard the truth in her words.

She seemed to maybe hear the truth about the military.

No, Scylla couldn’t think like that. It didn’t matter. She had one chance to get out of there.

She could dwell on how much the drill sergeant knew once she was as far away from base as she could get. 

With a tight nod to the guard at the door, Scylla pushed the barrier open, blinking as the sunlight hit her eyes for the first time in days...weeks.

It was so bright.

Face scrunching, she held a hand up to block the bright rays. She quickly looked around. A few graduates and their families still milled about. 

She wondered if the Bellweather Unit was there.

Abigail with her high and mighty family, probably toasting to another Atlantic well on her way to general. 

Tally would...Scylla gulped, Tally would probably be with Raelle. 

Raelle.

Scylla couldn’t help but scan each face, study the back of each uniform. 

Raelle graduated today. Her dad was supposed to show up. They should be celebrating now. War College bound. Scylla knew the moment those bells began to ring that Raelle was one step closer to fighting. One step closer to the violence. One step closer to being a puppet for a military that didn’t care about anyone else but those in power.

No. Scylla shook her head at herself. Raelle might be a soldier, but she wasn’t blind. So many nights they talked about their lives. About their thoughts. The army took Raelle’s mom away from her. Broke her heart.

Scylla swallowed thickly as she remembered the first time she heard Raelle’s plan to be war meat. Standing in her dorm room, the blonde let her in on her secret. That she was going to get it all over with quickly. End up on the front lines and die before she could make others suffer along with her. A quick ripping off of the bandaid. 

Goddess, Raelle had been so broken. She hid it well, but Scylla could see it. Could hear it in her voice. Feel it in her touch.

Raelle let her in, and Scylla saw how much she didn’t believe in...anything. 

If nothing else, Scylla was grateful Raelle changed her mind. Listened. Let the army train her. Recognized how powerful she was...how powerful she could be. 

_I don’t feel powerful._

That people loved her and needed her.

_Was anything real?_

She pursed her lips as the memories snapped at her. 

Curling her hands into fists and then releasing the tight grip, Scylla forced herself to not think about how much she had ruined. She hurt Raelle. Hurt the woman she loved. Raelle didn’t believe her, but it was true. Raelle was it for her. The one. It had been so long since Scylla felt anything but the anger and fear and sadness inside. But, with Raelle, she felt - happy. Peaceful. Lying in her arms, Scylla could see something beyond blood and screams and fighting for a cause with no end in sight.

She could see lighthouses and beaches and nights spent wrapped in each other’s arms trading kisses for words of love.

Raelle was ok, though. That was the main thing. Raelle might hate her, but she was safe. She was probably with Tally and her dad, getting pizza and talking about what they would do next. Raelle would look so good in her uniform, medal shining around her neck. Her sky blue eyes dancing with mirth and that adorable grin that accompanied a full on belly laugh making her nose crinkle. 

Raelle would be ok, and Scylla needed to get the hell off of base.

She needed a way out.

“Sargeant Quartermaine.”

Fuck.

Scylla’s eyes widened. She quickly hid her surprise and straightened her posture. 

Izadora walked over to her, a concerned look on her face.

Scylla bit back a tiny gasp. She liked the Necro scientist. She was always nice to Scylla. Strict, but thoughtful. She didn’t care about Scylla’s dodger background. She just cared that Scylla wanted to learn and supported her.

“Izadora.” Scylla greeted her, keeping any emotion out of her voice.

Izadora stopped beside her, eyeing her for a moment before speaking, “I heard about what happened.”

What happened? 

The confusion must have sparkled in Scylla’s eyes, because the scientist continued, “I can’t believe it happened. Petra has torn through the chain of command. I’ve heard even the Navy is getting wind of it.” She placed a gentle hand on Scylla’s arm.

That was unexpected.

Izadora’s voice dropped to a whisper, “I know you care about them. I don’t know how General Alder believes she can get away with it. Keeping a student prisoner is one thing. But Bellweather Unit were top of their class and includes Petra’s daughter.”

Bellweather Unit.

Scylla’s blood ran cold.

“Izadora,” she searched for what to say, but the frozen hand of dread creeped down her spine, pressing fear and alarm through her veins till every nerve was numb.

“I know you trained them well. I’ve seen how powerful they are together. They will fight hard. But, to deploy them now? On graduation day? They’re not ready, Anacostia. Alder has to know this. We all know this. She’s taking one of our best units in generations... ”

Deploy.

Raelle was deploying.

Right now.

No.

No.

This wasn’t happening.

This couldn’t be happening.

Scylla ripped her arm away from Izadora, not caring that it might give her away, “I have to go.” Ignoring Izadora’s calls, she sped away, walk turning into a jog turning into an all out sprint across base. 

Raelle couldn’t be deploying.

She was supposed to be with Tally. With her dad. 

She was supposed to be safe.

Twisting around a corner, Scylla darted around a gaggle of cadets, oblivious to their stares and whispers. Her head whipped around. Searching. Hoping. 

That’s when she spotted him.

Standing near one of the dormitories. She would recognize his weathered features anywhere. Raelle had shown her a picture of him, and she noticed how the blonde seemed to get her smile from him. The photo was old and weathered, a simple shot of the Collar family standing next to each other by a large oak tree. Raelle was comfortable in a battered pair of blue jeans and plain white t-shirt, backwards baseball cap pulled over her head. She was smiling, strap of a pack slung over one shoulder. At her side, her dad, Edwin, was grinning too, head nearly bald and face shining and slightly sunburnt. On her other side was her mom, smile muted but still there, an air of affectionate exasperation in her gaze mixed with exhaustion and something else. 

It was the last family camping trip before Willa died.

Normally only Raelle and her dad would go. It was a birthday tradition. But, this time her mom asked to join.

It was one of the last memories Raelle had of her entire family together.

Cautiously stepping closer to the man, Scylla held her breath.

There were tears in his eyes.

He rocked on his feet, looking everywhere but seeing nothing.

Scylla’s heart dropped.

The rumble of a truck engine filtered in, and Scylla couldn’t stop herself from watching as a group of military transport vehicles drove into view. The vehicles were open air, letting the occupants feel the breeze and bask in the sunshine as they traveled. 

As they drew closer, a flash of braids caught her eye.

The vehicles slowed down to a crawl in Scylla’s mind. 

Raelle and Tally sat near the middle of the bench, dressed for combat. 

The grey and black uniforms. Scourges hooked to their sides. Pouches most likely filled with salva and other small personal items strapped to a thigh. Packs on their backs and a small charm pinned to a chest.

Raelle’s eyes, always full of life, full of emotion, were dead. 

She looked like a prisoner on her way to the gallows. A prisoner who had accepted what she’d always known.

_So, that was your big plan, then? Just ruin your chances for War College, deploy too soon, and get blown up on the front lines because you suck so bad. Die young...waste all that youth and beauty...and fury._

_Yeah, kinda like that but faster._

The blue orbs rose, seeming to somehow land on Scylla as they drove by. Raelle didn’t show any reaction except for the tiniest furrow of a brow. A miniscule reaction most wouldn’t even notice. 

Scylla noticed everything about Raelle.

_I hate to break it to you, Beautiful, because there’s no way out._

_I know a way._

As the trucks drove by, Scylla turned her hand, finger tracing an S into her palm. 

The trucks disappeared from sight.

_The way out is...is in._

Raelle was staring down at her hand.

**Author's Note:**

> Because gosh darn it, I really need Scylla to know that Raelle was being deployed. I take a perverse sense of pleasure in this macabre scenario.


End file.
